Friday, September 18, 2015

#Review - Every Breath You Take by Chris Marie Green (Urban Fantasy)

Series: Jensen Murphy, Ghost for Hire # 3Format: Paperback, 416 pagesRelease Date: April 7, 2015Publisher: RocSource: LibraryGenre: Urban FantasyThe author of the Vampire Babylon series and Only the Good Die Young presents another ghost story...

Ever wonder what happens after you die? Well, as a ghost, Jensen Murphy could tell you—and the truth is much stranger than anything you could imagine…

I never accomplished much when I was alive. As an average eighties California beach bum, I, Jensen Murphy, didn’t have any direction. But since I’ve joined Boo World, I’ve found a calling. Now, I’m a supernatural investigator, using my ghostly skills to spook confessions out of bad guys.

But being a paranormal PI is taking its toll. Spirits are hounding me for justice day and night, and, now, a ghost hunting TV show is digging up dirt on my unsavory demise that I’d rather keep buried. Worst of all, a seriously evil specter is making my afterlife hell by hurting the people and ghosts I care about. To stop him, I’ll need assistance from a higher power—only the price I’ll have to pay for that help could be my very soul.

Every Breath You Take is the final novel in the Jensen Murphy, Ghost for Hire trilogy. 30-years ago, Jensen Murphy's bottomed out to the point where she didn't really care about anything or anyone. Then one night, a mysterious killer turned her life upside down even further. On that night, Jensen was never heard from again after partying in Elfin Forest. Her body was never found, her killer went undiscovered and unpunished, and the investigation closed without any results or leads. Three decades later, Amanda-Lee Minter, psychic and medium, arrived to pull Jensen out of her never ending time loop where she relived her own murder over and over again.

Amanda Lee promised Jensen that she would help find her killer, but first, she needed Jensen's help with a case that was personal. Even though they've had some trust issues and minor conflicts, Jensen and Amanda-Lee are now partners working to solve problems for the residents of what author Chris Marie Green calls Boo World. Team Ghost, as I am calling it, not only includes Jensen and Amanda-Lee, but Wendy, Twylla, Scott, Marg, Gavin, Fake Dean, and Louis to name a few. Jensen and Amanda-Lee are busier than a fox in a hen house these days. Every ghost wants their own murder solved which doesn't leave a whole lot of room for Jensen's own case.

The arrival of a Ghost Hunting team (JJ, Serra and 10) hoping to get more information about Jensen's disappearance, pushes Jensen's to the forefront, finally! This, my friends is what we've all been hoping for and waiting for. Finally we will get the truth about what really happened on the night of Jensen's murder. Finally CMG unveils the identity of not only Jensen's killer, but also puts the Jensen and Amanda-Lee's whole relationship to the test. We also get a resolution of who Fake Dean really is, and why he wants Jensen so badly. I dare say that I was floored and shocked by THAT revelation.

I think that the trilogy was rather unique in that a ghost is the lead protagonist who goes around solving cases with her fellow friends/ghosts. I love that Jensen has a supporting cast which also includes several humans who can only see Jensen when she is around Fake Dean. I loved how Green really made the reader feel as though something bad was going to happen at any moment. I loved how well this series was wrapped up, even though I kind of wept a bit for one of the main characters. In some ways, it was the perfect ending. In other ways, it was a bit of a reality check to realize that this series is now over with.

I definitely recommend this series. I will challenge my fellow readers to start from the beginning with Only The Good Die Young. Although Green does a fairly respectable job at summarizing, I would say that if you miss the first two books, you will miss some important background information. I challenge you to go to the library, or find a friend who has these books, and start reading! If you don't know Chris Marie Green, she is also the author of the Vampire Babylon series.

4 comments:

OOoh nice! I still need to read this one!! I initially was supposed to get it for review, but after months of not getting it and even making contact with my...contact, I went out and got it for myself. Which does make it harder to up it in my queue with all the reads to read! LOL! Sad to see this series end so soon, but definitely looking forward to finding out who killed Jensen! Great review!

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Hi, I'm Shelley, an avid book reader from Florida by way of New York. I read and review books of MOST GENRE's for my own personal gratification and don't mind if people disagree with my assessment as long as they respect me.
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